Army boss says female shopping habits are clues to hiring frontline warriors

EXCLUSIVE: Australia’s chief of army told recruiters they should study the shopping habits of women to better understand how to attract them into frontline combat roles.

“Men buy. Women shop.” It’s essential information for Army recruiters in Australia. Picture: Thinkstock

• New-model Army: ‘Only women will get the job’

AUSTRALIA’S Chief of Army told recruiters to study women’s shopping habits to better understand how to attract them to frontline combat roles.

The extraordinary advice came as part of a politically correct recruitment revolution that led to a ban on men being hired for military roles while female recruits are pushed to the front of the queue.

Lieutenant General Angus Campbell told recruiters in Canberra last year they could learn from a Canadian study called Men Buy, Women Shop.

Head of Army Lt General Angus Campbell: “I think we can reasonably extrapolate these ‘sales’ issues to our ‘sales’ of Army careers.”

“The report found clear gender differences in approach,” he told the gathering. “Men: ‘Want to go to the shop, buy the thing, and get out.’ ”

He quoted one woman from the research: “I love shopping. I love shopping even when I have a deadline. I just love shopping.”

Lt Gen Campbell said the revelations had “clear implications” for recruiting women. “I think we can reasonably extrapolate these ‘sales’ issues to our ‘sales’ of Army careers.”

Recruiters needed to draw on the research and understand the differences between the sexes. For example, recruiters should understand women “value sales assistants who make them feel important”.

The Daily Telegraph yesterday revealed the weekly targets sent to ADF recruiters showed no targets for men in 35 of 50 Army positions but an instruction to “recruit immediately” if a woman came forward for combat roles such as rifleman.

The women-only order comes after Lt Gen Campbell stated his intention to double the number of women in the ranks to 25 per cent by 2025.

Female participants scale a wall whilst tackling a confidence course at RAAF Base Wagga.

Defence was accused of putting up a smokescreen to cover its politically correct policy yesterday by stating: “All roles in the Australian Defence Force (ADF) are open for men and women to apply.”

But a recruiter said: “Yes, they can apply, but only women will get the job.”

The instructions to ADF recruiters on the weekly target document have roles for men marked in red, clearly showing there are virtually no vacancies for the next 12 months.

But the ones for women are marked in green, showing multiple targets for hiring in the next six months. Frontline roles including rifleman and artilleryman for women are also highlighted with a yellow star, which means “recruit immediately”.

The ADF document shows similar quotas for the navy and air force.

The recruiter said he had been ordered to tell any men recruited for a combat role but not yet in training to change their choice of job to make way for women recruits. “I have not done that,” he said. “I want the best person for the job irrespective of their gender.”

Former Army officer and Australian Conservatives member Bernard Gaynor said Defence’s statement denying discrimination was “nothing more than a smokescreen”.